


At a Glance

by MatveySunflower



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: Eventual Fluff, M/M, Mild Language
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-20
Updated: 2017-02-08
Packaged: 2018-09-18 20:08:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9401048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MatveySunflower/pseuds/MatveySunflower
Summary: After Kaneki gets kidnapped by Yamori and escapes, Hide makes it his mission to find him. Not Rated because I don't know what rating will apply yet since it's not finished. There will be fluff and probably a little smut in later chapters! I will put a warning before any smutty scenes just in case you want to skip those. They won't add anything to the plot.





	1. Moping

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Aubrey](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Aubrey), [Nikki_the_shortcake](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nikki_the_shortcake/gifts).
  * Inspired by [279 Missed Messages](https://archiveofourown.org/works/4217223) by [Icepool](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Icepool/pseuds/Icepool). 



> Summary is a work in progress, I'm not sure where this is going so I won't add tags or anything else for the time being.  
> It also has a working title that I may or may not decide to keep.

Hide glanced at his phone in the dark. ‘No New Messages’ it read. Hide sighed and dug under his comforter. You’d think that Kaneki would have texted him by now at least once even if to just tell Hide that he was okay. Just a check-in. That’s all Hide wanted. Especially after all, what, two thousand texts he’d sent his friend?  
  
“Okay so maybe it’s not exactly two thousand but come on man!” He groaned in frustration. “I swear if this has something to do with the turtles, I’m sorry!” He knew it was useless to talk to himself, but he couldn’t help it. He missed his best friend, who had suddenly disappeared two weeks ago. He’d thought about calling the police, but then thought about the CCG and knew that if they found Kaneki they’d… “Nope! Can’t think about that!” He cut off that train of thought. “If this is about the ghoul thing…” He sighed and buried his head under his pillow. “You’re so dense Ken! Why can’t you just come home?”  
  
He decided to get out of bed and greet the world like a man. At… three in the afternoon. He’d stayed in bed all day _again_. Not that it was exactly his fault, I mean his best friend was missing. It’s one thing to know that he can’t talk to you because of some crazy ghoul holding you captive, but if it’s because of the ghoul thing… “Dammit Kaneki, you’re making me lose my mind and you’re not even here right now!” He stomped across his room and accidentally kicked the corner post of his bed. Hide let out a string of curses and held his foot, toppling over into a pile of week-old laundry where he decided to stay for a good ten minutes until all the pain was gone from his foot.  
  
He groaned and forced himself to stand up. “I should probably socialize with some real humans instead of spending eternity moping over a certain half-ghoul that shall remained unnamed, Kaneki you know I’m talking about you.” He pointed at the “missing persons” poster he’d tacked up on his wall that displayed an image of his best friend. He’d taken it when he’d torn down all the “missing” posters a while back and put it on his wall recently so he could at least see his friend’s face every day.  
  
“I really am pathetic aren’t I?” He said out loud, touching Kaneki’s face in the picture. “Wow I suck.”  
  
He finally worked up the courage to leave his bedroom and made it all the way to the living room before he slumped onto the couch in defeat. “I’m really not going to get anything done at all today unless you text me.” He glared at his phone and opened the message history. There were a ton of messages from him, but none from Kaneki. Hide sighed and tapped on his screen with his nails for a moment before clicking the call button. He listened to Kaneki’s voicemail recording, mouthing the words he’d come to memorize. At least with calling he got to hear his friend’s voice.  
  
“Hey, Kaneki! It’s me, your best friend. Or… I mean, I guess I’m still your best friend, right? I mean, are you ignoring me? Avoiding me? Anyway, I was just calling to see if you’d pick up. Not that you have yet but… well I should just keep trying until you answer me, right?” He paused, “Hey… I really miss you Ken. I think there’s something we should talk about so if you get this, please call me. Or text me. Please, I really need to know that you’re okay.” He took a deep breath and tried to make the last part sound less sad. “I really hope you’re safe! It’d suck if my best friend wasn’t okay.” He hung up, hitting himself mentally for that desperate-sounding message he’d left.  
  
“I just want to tell you that I know you’re a ghoul! Then we wouldn’t have to have this awkward gap that I let grow between us. It’s all my fault huh? I should have told you I knew. That I’ve always known. It was that chick wasn’t it?” He groaned and buried his face in a pillow.  
  
After another half hour of moping he got up and made himself coffee. He took a sip and made a face, “This is terrible. You make way better coffee, Ken.” He poured it out and decided on orange juice and a bowl of cereal that he didn’t finish. He didn’t eat much these days because of his worry and guilt.  
  
“If I would have told you, would Jason have gotten ahold of you like that? Would you…” He snapped his jaw shut and clenched his fists. ‘I can’t think about that.’ He thought. ‘I can’t think about what he did to you.’ He knew, but only because he’d put a listening device on a piece of clothing a ghoul wore into that room. That horrible, awful, despicable room that Kaneki was tortured in. He knew his friend had escaped, knew he wasn’t in the right of mind when he did, but after that… well, he’d lost track of him after that.  
  
“No matter, I’ll find you. Even if you don’t really want to be found.” He’d accepted that truth too, that maybe Kaneki wanted to remain hidden. Who was he to force him into the open?  
  
A thought occurred to Hide. He reached for his remote and turned on the TV to the news. He let that play in the background and opened his laptop. He was researching ghoul activity in the wards, starting with his and then the ones close to him, when something on the TV suddenly caught his attention. He looked up and saw Kaneki.  
  
“This teenage boy is still missing after an accident at Anteiku Cafe in the 20th ward two weeks ago concerning the infamous ghoul, Jason. He was last seen wearing the jacket from the image. Any information regarding this missing boy should be reported to the police or the CCG immediately.”  
  
Hide stared at the photo of his friend until it went off screen. “Kaneki…” He whispered. “They’re looking for you. Heh,” he huffed out a laugh, “join the club.” He looked back to his computer and clicked on a link that showed a picture of a member of Aogiri Tree that had been caught. The site outlined all known activity of that gang and one article held a report of an incident that had happened recently concerning a new member (or so the CCG speculates) of Aogiri who they have named the Eyepatch Ghoul. “Eyepatch?” He clicked on the name to follow a link to a website that had all the known information the CCG had released to the public concerning that ghoul, including a blurry picture captured by a traffic camera.  
  
Hide choked on the air he was breathing. Sure, the photo was blurry, but he’d recognize that face (or half of a face) anywhere. It was Kaneki. Hide had found him.


	2. Bowling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh this took forever to get done! And I apologize sincerely! I didn't want to force it out and end up with something that was... meh. I know it's still a little boring, but that's because I have to do some kind of set up for this thing to work. Thanks to everyone that commented on the first chapter, I appreciate hearing from people that actually think I'm a decent writer. I've never published something unfinished, so I hope this turns out okay.  
> The extra characters in this, Hide's friends, are OCs that I used as filler characters. They probably won't show up in any other chapter other than just being mentioned, but I don't make any promises.  
> Thank you all for taking time to read my stuff!  
> Also! Tags and summary are updated!

Hide now had motivation to actually do something. He took a quick shower to clear all the questionable hygiene decisions from himself and got dressed. As he was pulling on his shoes, his cellphone started ringing, startling him.  
  
“Ah! What the fu-“ He answered his phone, “What do you want?” His voice was harsher than he meant it to be. He could practically hear the eye-roll.  
  
“God, Hide, it’s just me. You know, your best friend?”  
  
“You’re not my-“  
  
“Yes, I am, since your boyfriend’s not here. Anyway, me and a couple of the guys are going bowling if you want to go with us.” His friend Lucas said from his side.  
  
“Luka, I don’t know… I’m busy right now man. And he’s not my boyfriend!” Hide tried his hardest to object but was unsuccessful.  
  
“Dude, I’m outside your apartment. Get your ass out here right now or so help me I will come in there and drag you out.”  
  
Hide groaned, “Ugh, fine. I’m coming, I’m coming. Don’t get your panties in a twist.” He snickered when he heard Lucas cursing him. Hide hung up his phone and finished tying his shoes, then he got up, grabbing his wallet and keys, and left his apartment. Sure enough, Lucas was waiting at the bottom of the stairs for him, hand on hip at the sassiest of angles.  
  
“Come on, stop moping and get down here, we’re going to have fun.”  
  
“Obviously, this wasn’t your idea.” Hide rolled his eyes at the blond and made his way down.  
  
An old, greenish Volkswagen sat outside with a Lucas-lookalike and a green-haired man in the driver’s seat. Jake and Aiden. Aiden was a carbon copy of Lucas, a younger twin who happened to be dating Jake.  
  
“I see you brought the whole gang.” Hide raised an eyebrow. “This is what you meant by ‘the guys’?”  
  
“Well if I told you that it was my baby brother and his boyfriend would you have wanted to come?”  
  
Hide made a face, “No…” he admitted. Jake and Aiden were one of those gross cutesy couples that Hide couldn’t stand.  
  
“Exactly. They insisted though. Jake’s worried about you.”  
  
“Pft, so?” They walked out and got in the car, sitting in the back.  
  
“So, he’s French and stupid.”  
  
“I’m not stupid.” Jake glared at Lucas in the rearview mirror. Lucas just rolled his eyes and crossed his eyes.  
  
“Seat belts boys.” Aiden turned around and smiled sweetly at them. Trust him to be friendly when no one else is getting along.  
  
Hide nodded, “Okay, sorry.” He pulled the belt and clicked it into place across his lap.  
  
As soon as both of them were wearing their seatbelts, Jake drove them to the bowling alley. The four of them went inside and Jake paid for a lane. Getting shoes was easy enough and soon they were getting set up with their names on the board. Jake took the first slot and Aiden the second, insisting he wanted to be “close to Jakey!” Lucas groaned and typed in his name third and went ahead and put Hide’s last.  
  
A group nearby cheered when one of theirs got either a strike or a spare and the four friends went off to find balls to play with. While Hide was finding one of acceptable weight, he overheard the large group talking.  
  
“Yeah so I _totally_ saw him the other day!” A blond girl was gushing.  
  
“No way, I still don’t believe you.” A brunette crossed her arms. Hide looked over, slightly curious.  
  
“Yeah! I mean it, I totally saw him! He had the eyepatch and everything!”  
  
“You mean you really saw _the_ Eyepatch?”  
  
Hide gasped and dropped the ball he was holding. He didn’t hear anything else over the blood rushing in his ears. He saw their lips moving, then the blond standing up, grabbing her cup, and making her way to the cola machine to refill. Without thinking he went over to her. “Hey, I-I couldn’t help but hear you and your friend talking about the Eyepatch ghoul. Did you really see him?”  
  
She nodded excitedly, “Yeah!” She went into detail about the experience, telling him everything except her exact location. He tried to ask about the ward, but she avoided telling him, keeping it vague. As she went, Hide slowly began to realize that she hadn’t really seen Kaneki. She was just making it up, presumably for attention.  
  
“Thanks anyway.” He sighed and returned to his friends.  
  
“Where’s your ball?” Aiden asked, tilting his head.  
  
“Oh, right, I dropped it over there.” He jabbed his thumb in the direction of the other group.  
  
“Well go get it silly! You’re not going to bowl with nothing.”  
  
“Yeah… about that, I think I’m going to go. I’m not in the mood to bowl anymore.”  
  
“Were you ever?” Lucas asked, looking up from his cellphone.  
  
“No, you dragged me here!” Hide couldn’t help the laugh bubbling up from his throat. “Just accept the fact that I’m not in the mood to do anything but mope.”  
  
“Mope and find your boyfriend.” Lucas corrected.  
  
“He is _not_ my boyfriend!” Hide groaned. ‘Yet’ he thought. He fully intended on telling Kaneki that he was into him once he actually found his best friend.  
  
“But you want him to be.” Jake raised one eyebrow suggestively.  
  
“Well, I mean, yeah. But he doesn’t need to know that yet.” He went and got a ball from the closest rack. It was too light, but it’d have to do because he wasn’t going to get another one.  
  
“You’re staying?” Aiden smiled.  
  
“Yeah, because you’re all jerks.” He put his ball on the rack and plopped down next to Lucas.  
  
“Great! Then I’ll start!” Jake got up and grabbed his swirly red ball and lined his feet up with the dots on the floor.

A couple hours later Hide stumbled out of the bowling alley ahead of his friends, a laugh in his throat and a smile on his face. He’d ended up losing all three of their games but somehow that didn’t matter. Somewhere between Jake and Aiden kissing every time one of them bowled a good ball and the greasy bowling alley fries he’d forgotten to mope. He’d forgotten to be sad and, somehow, he’d forgotten Kaneki. But then it all came rushing back to him all at once.  
  
He stopped just outside the door as his depression crashed back down on him. His friends pushed passed him and he stumbled and almost fell on the asphalt of the parking lot. His chest ached as he walked numbly to the car and climbed in. Mechanically he put his seat belt on and stared out the window as he tried to breathe.  
  
“Hey, look!” Lucas shoved his phone in Hide’s face and the blond reeled back, slamming his head on the headrest.  
  
“Jesus Christ Lucas!” He scolded, glaring at his friend and snatching the phone away. He looked at the screen and his blood went cold. It showed a news report documenting an escape plan of a high-class ghoul named Naki mid-transport to the Ghoul Detention Center in the 23rd ward. And who was in charge of this plan but the Eyepatch himself. "The 23rd ward huh?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's kind of short, but I like to base my chapters on ideas. On the bright side, this should have many chapters. On the downside, they'll probably mostly be short like this. There will be some that are longer though, once they get more interesting.

**Author's Note:**

> An idea I had after reading 279 Missed Messages by Icepool. I was inspired by that short series and decided to write this little thing. I'm not sure how many chapters it'll have or when I'll be able to update. I'm hoping once a week, but I've never posted something unfinished before so I'm not sure I'll be able to meet that goal. I'll try my best to keep up, but don't get mad if I can't. Please, I've never posted here before. And this is my first fanfiction for this show and this pairing.


End file.
